Surah An-Nur: Thematic English Translation (Mustafa Çevik)

This is a surah We have sent down and whose rulings We have made obligatory. In it We have sent down clear verses so that you may reflect and take heed.

Strike each of the woman and the man who commit unlawful sexual intercourse (zina) with a hundred strokes; if you truly believe wholeheartedly in Allah and the Day of the Hereafter, let not your pity for them keep you from applying Allah’s religion (law). And let a group of the believers witness the punishment carried out on them.

Let a man given to zina marry only a woman given to zina like himself, or a woman who associates partners with Allah; and let a woman given to zina marry only a man given to zina, or a man who associates partners with Allah. For these are fit for one another. For a believing man or woman, marrying one given to zina or one who associates partners with Allah is forbidden, for these do not suit or resemble one another at all.

And those who accuse chaste women of zina and cannot prove it with four witnesses, strike them with eighty strokes and never again accept their testimony, for they are truly defiantly disobedient (fasiq), gone astray from the path. Those of them who afterwards repent of what they did and devote themselves to doing what is right are freed from this defiance. Allah is merciful and forgiving toward those who repent and mend their ways.

Men who accuse their own wives of zina but can bring no witness other than themselves must swear four times, calling Allah to witness to what they say. And they must make the fifth oath by saying, “If I am lying, may Allah’s curse be upon me.”

As for the accused woman, if she maintains that her husband is lying, let her swear four times, calling Allah to witness. Doing so lifts the punishment from her. And let the woman make her fifth oath by saying, “If my husband is telling the truth, may Allah’s wrath be upon me.”

Had it not been for Allah’s mercy, His acceptance of your repentance, and His forgiveness, what would have become of you?

Allah is the Possessor of absolute judgment and wisdom.

Let it not seem to you an evil that a handful of people among you came forward slandering the Prophet’s wife. On the contrary, it has been for your good that you came to know such corrupters and mischief-makers among you. Each of them will pay the penalty for this slander, and the one chiefly responsible for the slander will be struck with a far more severe punishment.

O you believers! When you heard such a rumor, ought you not, men and women alike, all at once to have thought well of them and reacted, saying, “This is a slander”?

And, on the other hand, ought not the slanderers to have brought four witnesses? Since they could not, they are the very liars and slanderers. O you believers who believed but did not stand against this slander! Had it not been for Allah’s mercy toward you, you would have been struck with a very great punishment in this world and the Hereafter. For, without any firm evidence or knowledge, you did not stand against the slander, and you even spread it; moreover, you made light of this ugly deed and thought nothing of it. Yet what you did is a very great burden and a very great sin with Allah.

As soon as you heard the slander, ought you not to have said, “It is not fitting for us to believe in, or talk about, things of which we have no knowledge or proof; this is a great slander”? If you truly believe in Allah and His Messenger, guard against falling into such a sin! Thus Allah makes His rulings plain to you. Allah knows the absolute truth of everything and makes it known.

Those who spread false reports among the believers, slander and stir up mischief, and cause indecency to spread, and those who turn a blind eye to them, a painful punishment awaits in this world and the Hereafter.

Had Allah not shown you mercy and given you time to repent and mend your ways, He would have punished you at once for what you did.

O you who believe! Do not follow Satan’s whisperings and become followers of his footsteps. Satan instills slander, mischief, and indecency in those who follow him.

Had it not been for Allah’s mercy, compassion, and forgiveness toward you, and His showing you the ways to them, not one of you could have been cleansed of his sin or protected himself from evil.

Allah knows best whose repentance is sincere and who is worthy of forgiveness. He accepts the repentance of those who deserve it, and forgives and purifies them. Allah knows the one absolute truth of everything.

O you who believe! Let those among you who have the means not cut off their relations with, or withhold their help from, their needy relatives, and others who are poor and destitute, and the believers who suffered oppression and emigrated to you, and those who were slandered. Act toward them with virtue, decency, and moderation, and guard against hurting them.

Allah is compassionate, merciful, and forgiving toward those who act so.

Allah will curse in this world and the Hereafter those who slander innocent, chaste, and virtuous women. For such accursed people a very great punishment has been prepared in Hell. On the Day of Reckoning their tongues, hands, and feet will bear witness to what they did, and on that Day Allah will strike them with the most severe penalty they deserve. They did not grasp that Allah sees and watches over everything and gives the full recompense of what is deserved.

Do not forget that bad women are fit for bad men, and bad men for bad women, just as pure women befit pure men, and pure men befit pure women.

Allah knows best that the slanders cast at pure, chaste, virtuous believing women and men are not true. They are under Allah’s compassion, mercy, and protection. And in the Hereafter the rewards of Paradise await them.

O believers! Do not enter houses other than your own without asking leave of their owners and greeting them; to act so is better for you and more in keeping with a believer’s morality. If there is no one in the house, or no answer can be given you, do not enter the house until you are given leave; and if you are told that they cannot receive you, then go back; this is more virtuous and noble conduct for you. Allah knows what you do.

There is no harm in your entering places where no one lives, which are open for the benefit of others and of you, used as shelters or workplaces, with goods kept in them for that purpose. Allah knows both what you do openly and what you conceal.

O Prophet! Tell the believing men to guard their eyes from looking at what is forbidden and to guard their chastity; this is the noble and virtuous conduct that befits them.

Allah knows what they look at, and with what intent, and what they do.

O Prophet! Tell the believing women too to guard their eyes from what is forbidden and to guard their chastity. Let them not uncover and display their bodies by revealing their adornment beyond what must necessarily be visible (the hands and face). Let them draw their headscarves down over their collars. They may uncover their headscarves in the presence of their husbands, their fathers, their fathers-in-law, their own sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers’ sons, believing women, the slave women they possess, male servants who have grown old and lost their sexual traits, and small children who are not yet aware of women’s intimate parts. And let the believing women not stamp their feet as they walk so as to draw attention to themselves.

O you who believe! All of you, guard against conduct that leads to sin, and adorn yourselves with the morality that is Allah’s call, so that you may attain salvation and happiness.

O believers! Marry off those among you who have reached the age of marriage, and those of your slaves and captives who are of marriageable age. Let them not fear and keep away from marriage for fear of poverty. Allah will support them by His grace and grant them the means to meet their needs.

Allah’s blessings are endless, and He knows best the needs of His servants. Allah is the best of providers.

Let those who wish to marry but cannot afford to guard their chastity until Allah, by His grace and generosity, gives them the means and opens the doors of provision for them.

If those of your slaves and captives who ask you for their freedom and wish to make a contract to pay its price show, as you perceive, good intent to fulfill the terms of the contract, make the agreement they propose, and ease their way by giving them of the wealth Allah has bestowed on you. Never, with an eye to some advantage, prevent slave women who wish to marry and live chastely from marrying; protect them from falling into prostitution. Whoever does not do so, and does not prevent them from going astray, Allah will punish as he deserves; and He is merciful and forgiving toward the one deprived of her freedom who is forced against her will onto the path of vice.

Surely We have sent down to you Our rulings in clear verses, and given examples from which to learn from the nations that came and went before you. Only those who bear a wholehearted sense of responsibility toward Allah understand and grasp their meaning and importance.

Allah is the One who illuminates the heavens and the earth, the source of light. It is He who sent the Quran as a light to bring people out of darkness into light.

This light of Allah is like a lamp in a niche in the wall, lighting up its surroundings like a pearly star. The fuel of that lamp is the oil from the fruit of a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west. That oil is so pure, clean, and radiant that, even untouched by fire, it is light upon light that will illuminate its surroundings. Allah brings to His light those who wish to attain light and with it to illuminate both themselves and their surroundings.

With this parable Allah is calling people to walk on the path lit by the light of the Quran.

Allah alone knows the one absolute truth of everything.

The Quran, Allah’s light and guide to guidance, illuminates the hearts, homes, mosques, and countries of those who wish to learn the reason for their creation and the order of life that accords with it, and to fulfill what it requires. Those who attain this light run after winning Allah’s good pleasure morning and evening; they are such valiant people that neither trade nor other material interests can keep them from the order and morality of Islam, from performing their prayers, paying their zakat, and remembering Allah.

They live never letting slip from their minds the terror of the Day of Resurrection, when hearts and eyes will be turned about in fear.

Allah will reward such people with the finest rewards for their righteous deeds. Allah bestows blessings beyond reckoning on whom He wills.

As for what those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth do in the name of good, it is like a mirage in the desert: one parched with thirst takes it for water, but when he runs toward it and comes near, he finds not a drop; instead he finds Allah before him. And Allah settles his account in full and gives him the penalty he deserves. Allah is swift in reckoning.

The state of such people is also like the darkness at the bottom of the sea, covered by wave upon wave. Black clouds have settled over them; if a person wants to see his own hand, he cannot see even that.

Such is the state of those who turn their backs on the Quran, Allah’s light, and do not wish to be illuminated by it. There is no one but Allah to offer a person a source of light.

Do you not see that everything in the heavens and on the earth, down to the birds flying with outspread wings, is the work of Allah’s knowledge and power, and reflect on Allah’s greatness?

All of them glorify Allah by carrying out their tasks, subject to the order and laws Allah has established in keeping with the reason for their creation. O you who do not wish to grasp Allah as He deserves! What is wrong with you, that you flee from living the Islamic life to which you are invited? Allah knows what you do.

The dominion and sovereignty of the heavens, the earth, and what is between them belong to Allah, for He is their Creator and the One who established their order. And to Allah is the return.

O people! Do you not see how Allah drives the clouds, piles them one upon another and thickens them, and makes the rain fall from between them? And do you not see and reflect how He sends down hail from those clouds, strikes with it whom He wills and keeps it away from whom He wills?

Seeing how the lightning, whose flash almost blinds your eyes, comes out of the clouds, do you not understand what Allah has power to do?

Allah turns night into day and day into night. While Allah’s magnificent order works flawlessly in this way and you are witnesses to it, will you still close your eyes and stop your ears to the truth so as not to draw lessons from these things and grasp the importance of the order and morality that is your Lord’s call?

Allah has created every living creature from water. Some of them creep on their bellies, some walk on two legs, and some on four.

Allah creates what He wills, in whatever form and with whatever qualities He wills. He has power over everything.

To human beings, too, We have made known through clear verses the reason for their creation and the way of life, order, and morality that accords with their innate nature. Through His verses Allah brings to His right path those who wish to live accordingly.

Some people, though they say they have believed in the Islamic order of life to which they are invited, then go back on their word. These are not in truth genuine believers who believe wholeheartedly.

When they are called to the rulings of Allah’s Book and His Prophet to settle the problems between them, they turn away. But if they realize that a ruling in keeping with their worldly interests will be given, they come to what they are called to.

It seems there is a sickness in their hearts. That is why they suspect and fear that Allah and the Prophet will do them injustice. In truth, by this attitude they are doing injustice to themselves.

But the believers who believe wholeheartedly and submit to Allah’s call, when they are called before the Prophet to be judged by Allah’s Book, at once show their submission, saying, “We have heard and we obey.” These are the ones Allah will reward and who will attain what they hope for.

Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, guards against opposing Allah, and acts with a sense of responsibility, these are the very ones who attain success and happiness.

O Prophet! Were you to give the hypocrites an order to get ready to go out to battle, they would swear oath upon oath that they would obey your order. Say to them: “Do not swear oaths; just do what you have to do; what is asked of you is what Allah asks. Do not forget that Allah is aware of what you do.”

O Prophet! Say to them also: “Respond to and obey the call the Prophet makes in Allah’s name. If you turn away from the call and do not obey, know well that by doing so you do Allah and the Prophet no harm at all. The Prophet is responsible for fulfilling his duty of conveying, and your responsibility is to follow his call and live your worldly lives accordingly. If you do so, you will have attained what is right. What falls to the Prophet is to convey to you what Allah has sent down.”

Just as in the past Allah gave power on the earth to those who believed and strove heart and soul as befitted their faith, He promises to give power on the earth to the believers who follow them as well, to increase their strength, and, after their days of fear and anxiety, to bring them to security and peace. For they make no one a partner in Allah’s authority, and so serve Him alone. This is the religion Allah approves.

Whoever, though living on Allah’s blessings, takes other gods alongside Him, tries to share out His authority with others, and so associates partners with Him, these are the very ones who associate partners with Allah, the hypocrites, and the defiantly disobedient.

O you who believe! Perform the prayer consciously and scrupulously, pay the zakat willingly from the heart, and be followers of the Prophet, so that you may be shown mercy, protected, and rewarded.

Those who have conditioned themselves to deny Allah’s call cannot escape Allah’s punishment in this world or the Hereafter. Their final destination is Hell.

O you who believe! Let those who live with you and are in your service, and those members of your family who have not yet reached puberty, ask your permission before coming in to you at three times of the day: before the dawn prayer, at midday when you undress and withdraw to rest, and after the night prayer; for these three times are private times for the protection of your privacy. Outside these times there is no harm, for them or for you, in their coming and going without asking your permission. They are people you inevitably have to live with. Thus Allah explains His verses to you in detail.

Allah knows what is most right in everything and prevents corruption through the verses He makes known.

When your children too reach puberty, let them ask permission when they come in to you, as the grown-ups ask permission.

Allah is All-Knowing; He knows best how you are to live most rightly, peacefully, virtuously, and honorably, and lays down rulings accordingly.

There is no harm for women who have grown so old that they have no sexual desire left and have lost their sexual appeal if, without any aim of displaying their bodies, they go out without wearing part of their outer garments. Yet it is better for them still to be covered. Allah knows the intentions borne in hearts and is aware of everything.

O you who believe! The believer who is blind, lame, or has another illness, or who is poor, is also your brother. Never make difficulties over their needs, do not withhold your support and help, and do not keep away from being together with them.

There is no harm in your eating, together or separately, in the houses of your own children, the houses of your fathers, the houses of your mothers, the houses of your brothers and sisters, of your paternal uncles, paternal aunts, maternal aunts, maternal uncles, in the houses of believers who are your friends, or in the houses of believers whom you trust so much that they would entrust you with the keys of their homes.

When you enter houses, be sure to greet with peace, wishing blessing, wellbeing, and good from Allah.

Thus Allah makes His rulings clear to you, so that you may reflect and understand what is good for you.

True believers believe wholeheartedly in Allah’s warnings and counsel given through the Quran and His Prophet, and in the rulings of the order and morality that is His call. When the believers gather with the Prophet to discuss a matter concerning the community, they do not leave until the Prophet gives them leave to go.

O Prophet! Give leave to depart to those who ask it because they have a genuine excuse compelling them to leave. They are among those who believe wholeheartedly in Allah and His messenger; pray for them.

Allah is most compassionate, merciful, and forgiving toward the true believers.

O believers! Do not regard the Prophet’s calling you to a meeting like your calling one another or anyone else’s call. Allah certainly knows those among you who want to slip away from a meeting with the Prophet without asking his leave, unnoticed by anyone. So let such people beware lest calamities befall them in this world and the Hereafter.

Know well, and never let it slip from your minds, that Allah is the true Owner of all that is in the heavens and on the earth. He knows best your inner selves, and the way by which you wish to live and are living.

When the day comes, everyone will be given their record of deeds, the proof of their attitude toward the order and morality that is Allah’s call, and shown the recompense they deserve. Allah knows everything fully and is the Possessor of judgment and wisdom.